Earl Marischal Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) The green & white cab. Also, why the cutaway fenders? The red & yellow ones are DeSotos I believe. steve Edited October 15, 2023 by Earl Marischal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhess Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 I don't know what kind of car it is but the fenders appear to be painted to look that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) It's a 30s Checker cab. They were made that way w/ the cutout front fenders. Edited October 15, 2023 by Rob Hall 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 I knew that Checker built their own cabs, but the only ones I recall were post WWII versions. The post from Rob Hall explains everything about that car. The red and yellow extended wheelbase cars could be either a De Soto or even Dodge as both offered a similar model and were separated by a grill and trim differences. While not a cab, a neighbor of my Grand Parents had a Chrysler with the extended wheelbase in this body style as well as an early '50's Chrysler long wheelbase in their garage. This I recall from visits to their home outside of Chicago around 1955. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 I've read the reason Checker came up with that odd front end was to eliminate or minimize the prospect of sheetmetal contact with the front tires in the event of a fender-bender...contact that could damage tires and/or take a vehicle out of service. The design was introduced in 1939, when war was already on the horizon and rubber (for tires) shortages were anticipated. Anyway, here's a link that includes a video showing these things in service in NYC. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/vintage-photo-1940-checker-model-a-landaulet-open-top-bizarre-front-end/ 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 I've only seen the 30s-50s style Checkers in photos and old movies, never seen one in person. The green/white late 30s model appears to have a folding rear roof over the back seats, seen photos of them with the rear compartment open like a landaulet. About the only Checkers I've seen in person were 60s-80s models.. I remember driving past a field full of them years ago here in NE Ohio somewhere.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I've read the reason Checker came up with that odd front end was to eliminate or minimize the prospect of sheetmetal contact with the front tires in the event of a fender-bender...contact that could damage tires and/or take a vehicle out of service. The design was introduced in 1939, when war was already on the horizon and rubber (for tires) shortages were anticipated. Anyway, here's a link that includes a video showing these things in service in NYC. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/vintage-photo-1940-checker-model-a-landaulet-open-top-bizarre-front-end/ At the 2:40 mark there is a car with hidden headlights, what make is that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSchnell Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 11 minutes ago, TarheelRick said: At the 2:40 mark there is a car with hidden headlights, what make is that one? 1942 Desoto. Pretty rare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 2 hours ago, Rob Hall said: I've only seen the 30s-50s style Checkers in photos and old movies, never seen one in person. The green/white late 30s model appears to have a folding rear roof over the back seats, seen photos of them with the rear compartment open like a landaulet. About the only Checkers I've seen in person were 60s-80s models.. I remember driving past a field full of them years ago here in NE Ohio somewhere.. I believe only one or two of the prewar cars still exist. Only one or two of the more conventional looking early postwar ones exist. Checker only began offering cars for sale to the general public in the late Fifties, not that they ever sold many that way. The family that owned a company that I used to work for (in 1989) bought a 1982 (final year of production) Checker brand new, and still had it in '89. The woman who ran the company was then putting a lot of effort into short paying the shop that had just rebuilt the Checker's engine. I don't care what anyone says, that ugly front end prewar one would make a neat street rod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Checkers were built in Kalamazoo, MI. In 1972 I was working for a corporation that sent me TDY for four months to Kalamazoo. I had never seen so MANY Checker Marathons in my life to that point . . . and after leaving Kalamazoo I've never seen that many since. Amazing part of it was that most of them running around in Kalamazoo were NOT taxi cabs. Checker offered an employee discount. It was bizarre to see Checkers in multiple non-yellow colors! Some of them were hot-rodded (mags, jacked up shackles, wide tires, vinyl roofs, lots of chrome, loud stereos, etc., etc.). Occasionally jacked up on 4x4 truck chassis with BIG wheels/tires. Families riding around in Marathon wagons. Just amazing. I was stunted for years after that experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell C Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Never knew those existed. Quick search for that vintage turns up, among other results, that somebody makes a diecast of 'em. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Checker also made stampings for the Big Three, and they were also connected to the company that made Great Dane semi trailers. In the mid-Sixties, Newman and Altman approached Checker about taking over production of the Avanti. The guy running Checker turned it down, supposedly telling them the Avanti was an ugly car and that they wouldn't be able to sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Ernie’s Taxi in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” was a Checker. The early ones didn’t have headlights up next to the radiator shell, they were in the cowl sides in front of the doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 13 hours ago, Tom Geiger said: Ernie’s Taxi in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” was a Checker. Mmm, not so much Tom. GMC. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2018/12/19/aaca-museum-hosting-ernies-gmc-taxi-from-its-a-wonderful-life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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